As the application scenarios for US dollar stablecoins continue to expand, the US has taken the lead in passing stablecoin regulatory legislation, and the EU's pace has also significantly quickened. According to (Financial Times), the European Central Bank is accelerating the development of the 'digital euro' and is considering issuing directly on public chains like Ethereum and Solana.
In the third progress report published by the European Central Bank on July 16, it was pointed out that the preparation period for the 'digital euro' will last until October 2025, at which time the ECB Governing Council will decide whether to proceed to the next phase. It is worth noting that even if the central bank decides to proceed, the formal issuance will still rely on the EU legislative process.
According to reports, the European Central Bank is currently working on establishing a regulatory handbook, conducting user demand surveys, and launching an innovation platform covering about 70 market participants to test the payment model and technical feasibility of the 'digital euro'.
European Central Bank Executive Board member Piero Cipollone emphasized in April this year at the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee that the strategic value of the 'digital euro' lies in reducing the EU's structural dependence on non-EU payment infrastructures and establishing a resilient retail payment foundation for Europe.
In other words, the EU hopes to anchor everyday payments to the euro through Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), supported by 'central bank credit' in both online and offline scenarios.
Although constructing the 'digital euro' on a public chain means it can directly connect with wallets and tokenized assets in the future, institutional regulations will still be enforced through intermediaries, which does not equate to complete decentralization.
In terms of design, the European Central Bank still regards 'privacy', 'holding limits', and 'offline payments' as key constraints. The central bank reiterated in an official document in July that no technical framework has been selected so far, and relevant discussions remain open.
(Financial Times) reports also describe the consideration of public chain solutions like Ethereum and Solana as more of a policy 'open posture', rather than a finalized decision, which echoes the European Central Bank's current 'technological neutrality' stance.
In fact, Europe has already set precedents for the adoption of public blockchains at the financial institution level. The European Investment Bank (EIB) issued a two-year, €100 million digital bond through Ethereum back in April 2021. Some central banks have also tested the feasibility of wholesale CBDCs based on public chains.
However, the European Central Bank emphasizes that whether the 'digital euro' can be issued still depends on the final decision of the EU legislative bodies. According to a (Reuters) report in May this year, political consensus may not be reached until 2026 at the earliest, and before that, there will be no definitive conclusions on the technical framework and issuance timing.
"Accelerating the development of the 'digital euro'! Financial Times: Europe considers issuing on Ethereum and Solana" was first published by (Blockke).
